African American Vernacular English is a language created by African American slaves who had to create a means of communication because they all spoke different languages and were not taught Standard American English. Words like “fam” and “hella” are more Black slang than they are African American Vernacular English , and it’s important to draw some distinctions between Black slang and African American Vernacular English when discussing issues like code-switching because the concept of code-switching really applies to African Americans who have been taught African American Vernacular English as a primary language and have to “switch” to their non-personal interactions in order to be more palatable. It’s not the same as removing newer idioms
